Dr. Amjad Saqib founder of Akhuwat Micro Finance nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2022.
Dr. Saqib is a social entrepreneur, development practitioner, former civil servant, and author who is transforming thousands of lives in Pakistan by providing interest-free microfinance services and free education to students from underserved areas through four colleges across the country.
Last year, he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 – Asia’s premier prize and highest honor for his humanitarian work in poverty alleviation. He is also a recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan, the Point of Light award by Queen Elizabeth, and Best entrepreneur of 2018 by Schwab Foundation and the World Economic Forum.
Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib is a development practitioner, public servant, philanthropist and founder of Akhuwat, world’s largest interest-free microfinance program. His professional expertise and employment history include public management, poverty alleviation, social development, governance and educational reform in Pakistan.
Having graduated from King Edward Medical University, Dr. Saqib started his career by joining the esteemed civil service of Pakistan in 1985. He served at various high-level government positions including Punjab Rural Support Program (PRSP), a rural development and microfinance initiative by government of Punjab for seven years. The program aimed at social mobilization, community organization and provision of financial access to the poor. Concluding that an alternative method is needed to cater to the needs of the poor, he decided to resign from the civil service and dedicate his life to the mission of creating a poverty-free society by founding Akhuwat.
Dr. Saqib resigned from Civil Service in 2003 and founded Akhuwat the same year. He has been its CEO and main driving force since beginning. With seventeen years of successful operations, Akhuwat now presents a viable model of Shariah-compliant microfinance, which is both sustainable and replicable. Besides Akhuwat, Dr. Saqib is voluntarily serving many civil society organizations in the realm of education, health, disability, banking and finance. He is also on the board of a commercial bank and a few public universities. Besides his pro-bono services, Dr. Saqib regularly provides consultancy to various international development agencies including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Labor Organization (ILO), UNICEF, World Bank, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), USAID and Foreign Common Wealth and Development Office (FCDO, previously DFID) and different public sector organizations in Pakistan.
Dr. Saqib has a diverse educational background. Besides degree in medicine, he received his master’s degree in Public Administration from The American University, Washington D.C, USA. He has spoken at highly esteemed international forums including Harvard, Oxford and United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC). Dr. Saqib is a prolific writer and has authored nine books available on his website.